You may think people will be safe inside cages when they try swimming with sharks but in these pictures you will a couple of daredevil divers who are wearing nothing but their wetsuits.

In the pictures you will see the tigers in close proximity to the tiger sharks and in one of the pictures; the diver is even stroking the shark. They usually grow upto a length of 16 ft.

These pictures will dispel all the myths about the dangers of being around sharks brought on by scary movies with man eating sharks. Their normal diet includes dolphins, fish, seals, squid, turtles and even birds. and hence the chances of them looking at a human as prey are quite low. The freedivers William Winram and Pierre Frolla are lucky to have come so close to these sharks and live to tell us about it.

The picture will definitely intrigue you into finding out what they represent. The second picture shows the entrance to the subway and stories will tell you how difficult it was to get the approval for this. You will also see a home made wheel lift which was well used. The limestone walls were all built by one person as people weren’t ready to work here.

The reason? They would be paid only after the job was done. Although it is underground, it is only 2 meters from the surface. The tunnel of 150 cm height is quite impressive. Everything was done here by Leonid including the burning the limestone. In the picture you will also see the pumping station and a boiler that used to keep the 4 surrounding houses warm. In the final few images, you will see how the cams installed at the entrance can be viewed on the TV.

That’s the conclusion of a study that aimed to solve the mystery of why our solar system is enriched in a rare form of oxygen.

The study suggests that the sun and the material for what became the eight major planets formed in the vicinity of one or more supernovas and were enriched in the matter that stellar explosions left behind, including that strange type of oxygen.

Astronomers can probe the galaxy for signatures of different elements and their isotopes (atoms that have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons) to see how they vary from region to region. They have long known that the solar system has a peculiarly high ratio of the two rarest forms of oxygen, but haven’t known exactly why.

“This has been a problem for a long time,” said study author Edward Young of UCLA, who announced the finding Thursday at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C.

Some researchers initially thought the discrepancy between the ratio of those oxygen isotopes seen in the solar system and those elsewhere in the galaxy was a matter of measurement error. Another possibility was that while values for the solar system came from the observations of one star – the sun – those for other parts of the galaxy came from stars across large swaths of the Milky Way.

Now scientists have been able to determine the oxygen isotope ratios for individual star systems elsewhere in the galaxy, and the new measurements matched up with previous ones.

“They confirm that the solar system is indeed unusual,” Young said. It “sticks out like a sore thumb above the rest.”

So something must have enriched the neighborhood where the solar system formed with these rare types of oxygen.

“And in this case I think it’s supernovae that are the culprit,” Young said.

To get the values of oxygen isotopes that exist in the solar system, you would have to mix the material from the small supernova of an early star with the normal galactic background material, Young said.

Knowing what kind of environment our solar system formed in tells us more about how our solar system compares to other planetary systems in the galaxy.

Earthquakes are caused by the movement of the earth’s crust which releases sudden energy that damages the properties and other resources on the earth’s surface. The amount of energy that is released with the earthquake differs and it measured in a scale of 1 to 10 in the Richter’s Scale and 1 to 12 in the Mercalli Scale. Although different parts of the globe are experiencing earthquakes, USA has faced many such earthquakes that had caused a lot of damage to lives of the people and their properties. The following are some of the largest earthquakes that USA has experienced.

Prince William Sound

The earthquake that occurred in Price William Sound in the year 1964 is the largest that is recorded in the United States. This earthquake was of the Magnitude of 9.2. The town Anchorage that was located 120 kms from the epicenter was the most damaged town during this earthquake. Landslides, displacements, vertical displacements were found in the town due to this earthquake. Turnagain Heights experienced the most severe landslide. Blocks of earth were tilted at all angles. More than 130 acres were displaced. Telephone lines, gas and water lines, and electricity were disrupted in this town. The vertical displacements for up to 15 meters were found in some places.

M9 Cascadia

The M9 Cascadia is one of the largest earthquakes the world has seen with a magnitude of 9. It originated undersea due to the rupture of the Cascadia thrust. This earthquake occurred in the year 1700 on January 26th at 9 pm. Violent shaking of the earth was felt along the stretch between Vancouver Island to Northern California covering a distance of about 1000 km. The Vancouver Island was one of the most affected areas. Tsunami destroyed the Pachena Bay and there were not survivors. Even the Pacific coast of Japan was affected by the Tsunami wave. This earthquake many landslides and violent prolonged earth shakes that made people sick to even stand.

Rat Islands

One of the largest earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.7 occurred in the Rat Islands in the year 1965 on Feb 4th. The tsunami that was generated with this earthquake was found to be of up to 10.7 meters in height. The prefabricated wooden buildings in the Adak Island experienced cracks. Cracks in the runway were also observed in the Shemya Island. Flooding due to the tsunami affected the Amchitka Island and damaged properties. The US Coast Guard Loran station on the Attu Island, experienced hairline cracks in the runways.

Andreanof Islands

This earthquake that was experienced in the Adreanof Islands was of the magnitude of 8.1. This occurred in the year 1957 on 9th March. In Adak Island this earthquake created cracks on the roads up to 4.5 meters. Two bridges were destroyed. Due to this earthquake the Mount Vsevidof which was dormant for 200 years erupted. Tsunamis of height 15 meters at Scotch Cap and 8 meters at Sand Bay damaged the coast line, buildings, and oil lines. The Tsunami continued it journey towards Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai Islands and damaged properties there. Minor damages were made in San Deigo Bay.

Shumagin Islands

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2 occurred in the Shumagin Islands. This earthquake which caused minor damages was of high magnitude and occurred under sea. Less populated areas like False Pass experienced this earthquake. A small tsunami was also generated by this earthquake. The tsunami generated was recorded at Dutch Harbor, Sitka, Hilo, and Honolulu. Anchorage and Port Moller reported this earthquake.

Apart from the above mentioned earthquakes of high magnitude, there were several others that can be compared with these earthquakes that occurred in the United States of America. Alaska is the most affected area due to the earthquakes.

In ancient mythological times reflective surfaces like shiny metals and mirrors were thought to be magical and credited with the ability to look into the future. NASA is using mirrors to do just the opposite—look into the past.

Fast forward a couple of centuries from ancient time and myths to find NASA is developing a primary mirror, 21.3 feet in diameter, for use on the James Webb Space Telescope in a very different way—to tell us about our beginning in the universe and how the first galaxies formed. The primary mirror will serve as the telescope’s eye and peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System.

Handling delicate space hardware holds no superstitious myths for NASA, but it’s still a delicate task that requires careful preparation. On Friday, Jan. 8, six of the 18 Webb telescope mirror segments will be moved into the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility, or XRCF, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to eventually experience temperatures dipping to a chilling -414 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure they can withstand the extreme space environments.

When the primary mirror is assembled in space, it will include three different shapes of mirror segments: 6 are “A” segments, 6 are “B” segments and 6 are “C” segments. This upcoming test in the XRCF will collect data from all three sizes—“A, B and C”—a first for these in the cryogenic facility. This test will also include the engineering development unit, the first primary mirror segment of the Webb telescope that has met flight specifications at ambient temperatures.

“By the time testing in the XRCF concludes in 2011, all 18 flight segments will have been through multiple measurements while experiencing the extreme temperatures of space,” said Helen J. Cole, James Webb Space Telescope Activities Project Manager at NASA Marshall. “This process has been six years in the making and we’re excited that we can support the Webb telescope development with our world class cryogenic test facility.”

Marshall’s X-ray & Cryogenic Facility is the world’s largest X-ray telescope test facility and a unique, cryogenic, clean room optical test location. The test chamber takes approximately five days to cool a mirror segment to cryogenic temperatures. As this cooling takes place, engineers will measure in extreme detail how the shapes of the mirrors change, simulating how they’ll react to space temperatures.

“This is a tremendously important milestone to the Webb Telescope project that bodes well for both our future mirror manufacturing schedule and for the potential performance capabilities of the telescope,” said Lee Feinberg, James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Manager at NASA Goddard.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is leading the design and development effort for the space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Mirror manufacturing began six years ago, led by Northrop Grumman’s principal optical contractor Ball Aerospace. Brush Wellman in Elmore, Ohio made twenty-one 500-lb. hexagonal mirror blanks from beryllium, an extremely strong, lightweight metal. Axsys Technologies in Cullman, Ala. machined the backside of the beryllium blanks and chemically etched them into an isogrid pattern that reduced mirror mass by 92 percent, from 250 kg to 21 kg (equivalent to 553 pounds and 46 pounds). The front side of the mirror blank was machined to prep the optical surface for high precision grinding, polishing and testing, which is being done by Tinsley. The mirror segments have undergone a series of polishing and cryogenic testing cycles. Ball incorporates the mirrors into optical assemblies, which are mounted on the telescope structure.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the next-generation premier space observatory, exploring deep space phenomena from distant galaxies to nearby planets and stars. Webb will give scientists clues about the formation of the universe and the evolution of our own solar system, from the first light after the Big Bang to the formation of star systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth. Expected to launch in 2014, the telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Creatures including dolphins, monkeys, fruit bats and even ants are all capable of selflessly coming to the rescue of others, researchers found.

Dr Elise Nowbahari, from the University of Paris, said there is mounting evidence that willingness to go to the aid of others at personal risk is common in a range of species and far from a solely human trait.

Dolphins endanger themselves to rescue trapped dolphins, lifting an injured dolphin to the water’s surface to help it breathe, she said.

Monkeys will drive away an attacker from a vulnerable female or infants and female fruit bats help other fruit bats in labour to ease the birth.

She also said that ants frequently help other ants from the same colony if they are caught in traps or by a predator – though their heroism does not extend to helping ants from other colonies whose actual cries for help are ignored.

One of the biggest internet hits is a film of buffalo fighting off lions that had attacked one of their young in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

“We may be underestimating the extent of rescue behaviour in the wild,” said Dr Nowbahari, whose work is published in the latest issue of Communicative and Integrative Biology.

“Reports of rescue behaviour in non-human animals are exceedingly rare but is far more common than thought.”

She has drawn up a four-point model that could be applied to the behaviour of any creature, including humans, to identify heroic acts.

First, the individual being helped is in distress and unless it escapes on its own it will suffer severe physical harm.

Second, the rescuer places themselves in harm’s way by helping.

Third, the rescuer’s behaviour is suitable to the circumstances of the victim’s distress.

And last, rescuing is not done for any inherent reward.

She said: “Human acts of heroism are often rewarded with medals and commendations, for example. But one needs to distinguish between the reward inherent in the rescuing someone and the reward that may or may not be given if the act is recognised.”

Dr Nowbahari and her colleagues now intend to apply the four-point model to a range of non-human animal situations to determine if the rescuer’s behaviour was indeed heroic.

By using this detached method she expects to be able to document an enormous range of animals being heroic.

Fresh falls will increase the pressure on dwindling grit supplies across the country as local authorities have already been forced to cut their use of grit salt by a quarter to help conserve supplies.

Fifty trucks were leaving the INEOS Runcorn salt distribution facility on Sunday, with another 50 going on Monday.

Around 12,000 tonnes of salt at a UK distribution facility has been diverted from going abroad, and is being trucked to local councils.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for Wales, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and north-east England. There were also predictions that many other parts of England is likely to see falls of up to eight inches (20cm) today.

Police in Kent – which saw some of the heaviest snowfalls on Saturday evening – said the Army was on standby to help deal with the weather and advised people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

There were other flurries across the south of the England, although initial reports suggested they were not as heavy as expected.

Temperatures were bitterly cold in the Scottish Highlands overnight, as low as 3F (-16C), but much less severe elsewhere. London was just above freezing, Manchester a shade below and Cardiff -2C.

Clare Allen of MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said temperatures would struggle to rise above 1C or 2C on Sunday.

“There will be a north-east wind again which will make it feel colder, but much of northern England and Scotland will be dry and clear,” she added.

National Grid has lifted its latest gas supply alert – its third such warning in a week – after more supplies came in from the market.

It was imposed on Saturday evening after an imminent shortfall appeared to be looming, and it came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted gas was not running out despite recent record levels of demand.

The death toll from weather-related incidents has also risen to 26, with a wave of sports fixtures called off and more widespread travel problems.

The latest victim of the weather was a 42-year-old woman who died after being found lying in the snow in Newcastle on Saturday.

She was discovered by a passer-by in a wooded area near Newbiggin Hall shops and Westerhope Comrades Social Club just before 11am and died in hospital.

Police in South Yorkshire also confirmed a 90-year-old woman had frozen to death in her garden near Barnsley.

Meanwhile, rescuers were also trying to trace a keen mountain-walker who disappeared in the Lake District.

Steven Bailey, 51, from Ambleside, Cumbria, was last seen in Windermere on Tuesday but has not been seen or made contact with anyone since.

Charities have called for increased cold weather fuel payments to pensioners to help prevent the number of cold weather deaths soaring.

This weekend some of the weekend’s biggest sports events joined the growing list of weather-related casualties.

Seven Premier League football games were called off – at Wigan, Sunderland, Fulham, Hull and Burnley yesterday and Liverpool and West Ham today – with other league games, horse racing meetings and rugby union matches also postponed.

But around 2,500 Scouts and leaders braved the sub-zero temperatures at a winter camp. They had to hammer tent pegs into the frozen ground at Gilwell Park, near Chingford, east London.

There was little sign of warmer weather, although in some areas on Monday, temperatures might creep a little above freezing, bringing a hint of a thaw.

But forecasters said with a foot of snow on the ground in some places, it could take a week at that rate for it to disappear.

MeteoGroup said from Tuesday onwards there is a trend for slightly less cold weather, with milder air trying to come in from the south, but that could bring more snow, particularly across southern parts of England and Wales.

Heavy snow in Ireland on Saturday led to Dublin Airport closing for four hours, with more than 70 flights affected with cancellations and delays.

Flights were also diverted and delayed at Belfast’s George Best Airport, while there was also some disruption at UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton.

Train passengers experienced delays and cancellations on some routes, but the Association of Train Operating Companies said most operators had returned to a fuller service this weekend, with many running their normal weekend timetables.

Eurostar was running around two-thirds of its normal service from London, a spokeswoman said.